mltframework/shotcut

Shotcut is a free, open source video editor that runs on more than one operating system. The README describes it as cross-platform, which means the same program is built for Linux, macOS, and Windows. The project page links out to a features list and a roadmap on the shotcut.org website, so the README itself stays short and points you elsewhere for the full picture of what the editor can do. If you just want to use Shotcut, you do not need to read any of the technical parts. The README says ready-made installers (it calls them binaries) are built regularly and posted at shotcut.org/download. You download the one for your system and run it, the same way you would install any normal desktop application. The rest of the README is aimed at programmers who want to build the editor from its source code, and it openly warns that compiling Shotcut should be left to beta testers or contributors who know what they are doing. Building means turning the raw code into a working program yourself, which is more involved than clicking an installer. The instructions cover using a tool called Qt Creator, or doing the same steps from the command line with a build system called cmake: first configure the build in a separate folder, then build, then install. The notes mention that if you skip the install step the program may not start, because it cannot find some files it needs while running. The README also lists the outside software Shotcut depends on, the building blocks it links to rather than rewriting itself. These include MLT for assembling the video, Qt for the windows and buttons you see, FFmpeg for reading and writing the many video and audio formats, plus FFTW, Frei0r video effects, and SDL for audio playback. The license is GPLv3, a common open source license. Two people are credited: Dan Dennedy as main author and Brian Matherly as a contributor. Finally, anyone who wants to translate the program into another language is directed to a service called Transifex.